R.I.P. Michael Dibdin and Magdalen Nabb
Very sad, to lose so early on two excellent writers of crime fiction. Michael Dibdin died in March of this year, while Magdalen Nabb’s obituaries have just recently appeared. Both set their series in Italy; both passed away at the age of sixty. (Oh how premature that seems, when you are already three years beyond that particular milestone!)
Dibdin’s Aurelio Zen novels are set in various cities in Italy. The most recent one in the series that I’ve read is Medusa; End Games, the latest, has just been released in this country. I have to say that my all time favorite is Cosi Fan Tutti, a delightful riff on the Mozart opera, set in Naples. Dibdin was a peripatetic guy: born in England, he lived, at various times, in Ireland, Canada, Italy, and again in England before fetching up in Seattle in 2000, where he was living at the time of his death.
Magdalen Nabb I have already written about. Her publishing history in this country has been similar to Donna Leon’s: her books ceased to be available for a period of time, only to re-appear in recent years. Publishers in the U.S., ever scrambling to follow a perceived trend, saw that crime fiction set in exotic locales was becoming increasingly popular, and acted accordingly in bringing the work of these fine authors back into print in this country.
Obviously, the best way to honor the memory of Michael Dibdin and Magdalen Nabb is to keep their books in print in this country and to continue to read the works of these two fine authors – preferably (hopefully!) on site…
Books to the Ceiling 
Mysteries of Italy…and the mystery of what to read next when you’ve just finished a terrific book « Books to the Ceiling said,
April 30, 2009 at 12:53 pm
[…] the past, I have enjoyed crime fiction by both Magdalen Nabb and Michael Dibdin. (Oddly, and sadly, both of these writers died in 2007 at age 60.) Nabb’s novels are set in Florence, where the author lived for many years. This one is my […]